Cabinet approves purchase of grain by state to deal with crisis

The Cabinet approved on Wednesday a proposal tabled by the Minister of Agriculture which provided that the government will buy quantities of grain in order to deal with the crisis following Russia`s invasion of Ukraine.

Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis told the press after the meeting of the Ministerial Council that the state will purchase 36,000 tons of barley and corn, to increase stockpile capacity due to the crisis.

Kadis said that Cyprus already had stocks from the orders of the importers which will last until mid-April and added that these new orders are additional quantities. He noted that the situation is being monitored daily and if it is necessary new orders could be placed.

Moreover, he stated that the specific provision for orders from the state is included in the legislation recently passed that says in times of crisis the state itself could place orders.

He explained, the state will import the quantities and give them to importers under specific conditions in full transparency.